1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of telecommunications systems and methods. More specifically, the present invention is directed to systems and methods for identifying and/or distributing music and other types of useful information for users in a very simple and convenient manner. A variety of systems and methods are disclosed which provide users with quick and convenient access to various forms of information, such as, for example, audio information including music and news items as well as coupons and other information.
2. Description of the Related Art
Music and other forms of audio information are currently made available to consumers for purchase through retail stores in the form of compact discs, cassette tapes and other tangible media. Audio information is also currently presented to consumers through both radio and television. More recently, audio information has been made available to consumers through the Internet where audio files are downloaded to consumer's personal computers or other electronic devices.
One of the shortcomings of these existing systems is that the consumers who desire to receive a particular artist track or other form of audio information must be aware of both the artist name and the title of the song that the consumer desires to purchase. In the conventional music and audio information distribution systems described above, it is often difficult for a consumer to possess sufficient information in order to know both the artist and the name of a particular song that the consumer wishes to purchase.
For example, this may occur when an individual is listening to the radio while driving a car and the person hears a particular song that he or she finds to be enjoyable. While it is true that most radio stations will identify both the song and the artist for music that has been played by the station, this information is not always readily available and accessible to the consumer. An individual who hears a song played over the radio may be preoccupied with other tasks and therefore be unable to write down the necessary information for subsequently purchasing the song. Alternatively, the consumer may not be paying attention to the broadcast announcer at the time the announcer briefly describes the artist and track or other designating information concerning the desired audio information. As a result, although the individual may wish to purchase this song, he or she is unable to do so without investing additional time to determine the artist and track that is desired.
One additional deficiency of conventional music and other audio information distribution techniques is that they require that the consumer maintain the necessary identifying information until such time as the consumer is ready to purchase the music. Currently, consumers typically go to stores where they purchase CDs which contain the music that is desired by the consumer. This may not occur until several days or even weeks after the consumer has originally heard the song or other audio information. At this later point in time, the consumer may have forgotten or lost the requisite identifying information. As a result, the consumer may not make the necessary trip to the store for purchasing the desired song or other information. While it is true that the Internet has provided consumers with alternate and perhaps more convenient means for purchasing music, even this distribution channel suffers from the same problem which requires that the purchaser possess sufficient identifying information concerning a particular song.
Conventional distribution channels for music also suffer from shortcomings that typically prevent consumers from making spur of the moment purchases of music. As noted above, when a person hears a song over the radio, in order for the individual to purchase the song he or she is required to physically go to a store or log onto a computer in order to obtain the desired music. The problem with these distribution channels is that they typically prevent the user from making an instantaneous decision to purchase a particular song. Consumers will typically not go out of their way in order to make such a spur of the moment purchase. As a result, when the consumer finally is at a store which sells music, the consumer may have forgotten about the song or simply made the decision not to purchase the song. This represents a very significant loss of potential business for the music industry.
Although the Internet has solved some of the accessibility problems of more conventional distribution channels, the Internet has several significant shortcomings in regard to the distribution of music. The primary shortcoming is that consumers may simply download an MP3 file without paying for the music. This represents a very substantial cost to the music industry in lost revenues. In order to overcome this deficiency, the music industry must provide some more convenient means for distributing music to consumers. Accordingly, there remains a need in the field for more convenient distribution channels which are readily accessible to consumers and which provide artist with fair and appropriate compensation for their works.
Thus, there remains a need for systems and methods which provide consumers with simple and convenient mechanisms for providing and maintaining information that identifies the artist and song which is heard by a listener. There also remains a need for systems and methods which provide consumers with convenient access to music that a consumer wishes to purchase.
It has now also been recognized that some of the deficiencies and shortcomings of the conventional music distribution channels are also inherently present in other conventional information distribution techniques. For example, one area of information distribution that suffers from similar shortcomings is in the marketing of products. Conventional advertising techniques which employ radio and television advertisements rely upon consumers to recall the advertisements when they are shopping for products. While print ads provide consumers with the ability to redeem coupons as a tangible reminder of the product, there is no analogous mechanism for radio or television advertisements. Accordingly, there remains a need in the field for systems and methods which provide consumers with convenient access to information on products distributed through television and radio ads.
Yet another shortcoming of the existing radio and television systems is that they do not provide users with the ability to immediately access information relating to a particular news item. For example, an individual listening to a radio station may hear a news item concerning a treatment for a specific medical condition with which the individual is familiar because of a friend or relative who has the particular condition. Currently, the individual who hears the news item is unable to relay any specific information concerning the news item to the person with the medical condition beyond that which the individual is able to remember. Often, this information is forgotten altogether before it is related to the person who is particularly concerned about the information.
It is apparent that there are a number of shortcomings in the existing conventional systems for distributing information including music and news. In light of the foregoing, one object of the present invention is to provide systems and methods that identify and maintain information in a readily accessible format concerning an artist and song that is heard by a radio listener. Another object and advantage of the present invention is to provide systems and methods that allow consumers to have convenient access to music and other types of audio information. Yet another object and advantage of the present invention is to provide distribution channels that are readily accessible to consumers and which ensure that artists receive fair and appropriate compensation for their works. Yet another object and advantage of the present invention is to provide consumers with quick and convenient access to other forms of information such as news items and marketing information such as, for example, coupons.